Eric Chua
Singapore
“Chairman, thank you for your indulgence. I would like to set right a couple of points in my speech earlier before Members seek clarifications. Firstly, I mentioned that enhancements we provide additional financial relief for 3,600 PwDs accessing our residential and community disabilities services. The number should be 3,800.”
“Sir, I thank the Member for her very passionate interventions over the past years as well. First, on job redesign. Under the existing Open Door Programme, there is a Job Redesign Grant that can already be applied for, so that is one potential avenue that we can point to.”
“And I behove all Members of the Chamber to also support these home-based businesses, because many of them, for instance, Bakes by Ben and his mum. They are making a living.”
“We must treat it as solvable. We cannot eliminate temptation, but we should not normalise harm. If technology has industrialised temptation, then our response must be to industrialise resilience: thoughtfully, proportionately, with care. Let us not hesitate simply because the subject is uncomfortable.”
“Sir, I thank the Member for his clarifications. On the provisions of information in vernacular languages on the website, I think that is something that we can potentially explore and look at.”
“I am also grateful for the IJT members across the private and public sectors – lawyers, policy-makers, law enforcement officers, social service professionals, healthcare experts, community partners and caregiver representatives. Sir, to be sure, we face both challenges and disruptions, but also tremendous opportunities.”
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“Miss Cheryl Chan noted that errors in hard copy LPAs would be rectified on the electronic copy under clause 9 of the Bill and asked whether these hard copy LPAs containing errors would be superseded by the electronic copies on OPGO. Let me clarify that clause 9 is intended to cover errors arising from the conversion of the hard copy LPA into the electronic LPAs, not errors within the hard copy LPAs. I note Miss Cheryl Chan and Mr Louis Ng's concern on whether transactions may rely on hard copy LPAs containing errors and would like to assure that these errors, such as repeated page numbers, are highly unlikely. OPG has checked through all scanned copies of existing registered LPAs to minimise any risk of errors. As to whether the electronic copies will supersede the hard copy LPAs, the hard copy LPA will no longer be treated by the law as the LPA after the electronic copy is treated by the operation of law as such. Therefore, while donees and third parties are not prevented from referencing the hard copy LPAs, the superseded hard copy LPA should not be relied upon for transactions. This is because any note on the occurrence of certain important events will only be attached to the electronic LPA henceforth. Such events include the donee's bankruptcy, which would revoke his power to manage the donor's financial matters. As such, I strongly encourage all parties to rely on the electronic copy when transacting. Mr Louis Ng asked if the hard copy version of the LPA is the LPA during the 90-day period. The answer is yes. The electronic copy only becomes the LPA after the 90-day period if no relevant error is spotted and reported.”
“Miss Cheryl Chan, Ms Hany Soh, Ms Ng Ling Ling and Mr Xie Yao Quan would be glad to know that OPG is working with Silver Generation Ambassadors to connect seniors keen to make their LPAs, especially those living alone, with their nearest community touchpoints. Citizen Connect Centres and Public Service Centre staff will be trained to help seniors make their LPAs or access LPA-related transactions online. Ms Soh may be assured that the staff will not be advising on the appointments or the powers to be granted. As for Mr Melvin Yong's suggestion to leverage Senior Activity Centres and regional social service agencies, OPG will work with them to direct their clients to the nearest touchpoint. I also thank Mr Seah Kian Peng and Mr Patrick Tay for their suggestions on other potential partnerships to ensure accessibility. For donors with mobility issues, such as physical disability or incarceration, LPA Certificate Issuers may visit them to certify their LPAs. OPG representatives can also assist the physically disabled with their LPA applications at their homes. For the visually impaired, OPGO will include text-to-speech functions to guide them in completing their LPAs online. Digital fingerprints, as suggested by Mr Yip Hon Weng, however, may not be necessary as we have replaced wet ink signatures with digital ones. A parallel hard copy system for the majority, as suggested by Ms Denise Phua and Mr Louis Chua, would not be necessary but, as mentioned in my opening speech, we will allow hard copy submissions under exceptional circumstances. Next, let me address some queries regarding OPGO.”
“Thank you, Mdm Deputy Speaker. I would like to thank all 19 Members who have spoken earnestly on the Bill, reflecting on the importance they place on pre-planning for peace of mind and for their support of this Bill. Members' comments fall into five broad themes, namely: (a) support for those who need help navigating online services; (b) clarifications regarding the electronic transaction system OPGO; (c) cybersecurity; (d) protection of donors, donees and third parties; and (e) future developments in the mental capacity landscape. Let me address each theme in turn. Many Members, such as Miss Cheryl Chan, Ms Denise Phua, Mr Don Wee, Ms Hany Soh, Mr Leon Perera, Mr Louis Ng, Mr Melvin Yong, Ms Ng Ling Ling, Mr Seah Kian Peng, Ms Yeo Wan Ling and Mr Yip Hon Weng have raised concerns about supporting those who need help navigating digital services. With the support of many community partners, we will endeavour to leave no one behind in this digitalisation journey. For the elderly with family, we encourage their family members to assist them and leverage Singpass' multi-user SMS Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). I would like to assure Ms Hany Soh and Mr Patrick Tay that tool tips on OPGO will explain the legal terms. Mr Louis Chua would also be pleased to know that instructions on making the LPA in OPGO will be made available in the vernacular languages. I thank Mr Seah Kian Peng for his suggestion to create a checklist for donors to track their progress. Further, the Office of the Public Guardian, or OPG, will train Certificate Issuers to navigate LPA applications on OPGO so that they, too, may support their clients. We will also offer one-on-one consultation at OPG's physical office.”
“" Members of this Chamber, deep down in our hearts, I know Singaporeans are not fair-weathered fans. Whether we are supporting our footballers, our athletes at the Olympics or the SEA Games, let us all stand resolutely behind our athletes. They have poured blood, sweat and tears into their sport, made sacrifices to be the best they can be, so let us all, as fans of Team Singapore, give them our wholehearted support! Mr Chairman, to conclude, whether it is about supporting our fellow men and women in our charities, sports, arts, youth or community sectors, Singapore can be a caring, cohesive and confident society only if we continue to weave our diverse threads together, as one Singapore tapestry. [Applause.]”
“Youth footballers under the SFAs will compete in an elite youth league to hone their competitive edge. Talented students outside these SFAs will also be scouted to join the ActiveSG Football Academy Development Centres so that they too, can receive similar levels of training support and competition exposure. For those who wish to pursue a professional career in football, local and overseas scholarships will be provided for our top youth talents. FAS is in discussions with overseas football institutions such as La Liga, Bundesliga Club Borussia Dortmund as well as Australian colleges such as Maribyrnong College. Locally, we will work with clubs such as the Lion City Sailors to provide similar opportunities. Our footballers will be tracked through a national athlete monitoring database, which will operate alongside a new Football High Performance Centre, that brings together our sport science capabilities under a technology-enabled space. We will also work with our partners to improve the ecosystem. One example is the provision of NS support for our elite and aspiring footballers. MCCY is working with MINDEF to tap support avenues for eligible footballers, including early enlistment, leave and time-off for NSFs to train, as well as opportunities to continue training and playing at the very top levels while fulfilling their NS obligations. These are just some examples of what we are doing. More details will be announced by FAS and SportSG in due time. Mr Chairman, I would like to declare at this point that I am not citing this next quote because of your allegiance to a certain football club but because I truly believe in what has been said. Liverpool legend Bill Shankly once said, and I quote, "if you cannot support us when we lose or draw, don't support us when we win.”
“Finally, Minister spoke earlier about uplifting Singapore football. Mr Sitoh is right. We have not been doing well in football in recent years. As a teenager, I was neither a good footballer, nor was I a most diehard fan. But I could, like many in my generation, rattle off names of football heroes that everyone knew: Fandi Ahmad, Nasri Nasir, Lim Tong Hai and super sub Steven Tan. And who could forget legendary bicycle kick goal that Sundramoorthy scored against Brunei in 1993! 3.30 pm The electricity was in the air at that point in time – in the Kallang Stadium, in the coffee shops, in our homes, in front of our TV screens. Each time Singapore's team scored a goal, our entire neighbourhoods would shake with excitement and passion and we rallied behind our football teams. So, this is my plea, not just to Members of this Chamber, but to all Singaporeans. Whatever your views of the state of football right now, I ask for your support as we reimagine and re-energise Singapore football. We will start with our children and youth. MCCY will work with MOE to build up a robust participation base, with about 2,000 boys per primary school cohort exposed to football techniques and tactics under FAS's national curriculum. This is an inclusive vision, a very timely one, given today is 8 March, International Women's Day, as we also want to grow the participation base for women's football. We will be engaging Secondary schools to invite them to establish School Football Associations, or SFAs, where aspiring footballers can further develop their skills in a school-based training environment, supported by an augmented coaching bench, enhanced facilities and an intensive training programme.”
“We are working closely with the Tokyo Olympics Games Organising Committee to ensure the safety of our athletes and officials. This includes a COVID-19 testing regime and allowing accredited athletes to train during the 14-day quarantine period, subject to a negative swab test. Our swimming and badminton teams are also looking forward to a Pre-Games Training Camp in July in Kochi, Japan. And this is made possible by an MOU between SportSG and the Kochi Prefectural Government. SportSG will also roll out a series of Computer Vision Systems that leverages video technology to better analyse an athlete’s performance. This system will be piloted in three sports – swimming, table tennis, football – and will be deployed at selected venues. The first batch of cameras for swimming has already been installed at the Singapore Sports School and will be rolled out across the two other sports within the year. Besides empowering our active athletes, I thank Mr Mark Chay for his suggestion to set up an alumni for Team Singapore and we are happy to explore this further. Currently, Team Singapore athletes who have represented Singapore at the Major Games are granted free lifetime access to ActiveSG swimming pools and gyms and invited to attend sports events. Those who have been inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame are also given additional access to sports medicine services at the Singapore Sports Institute Sports Medicine Centre and are invited to speaking engagements at schools and sports clinics. SportSG will continue to work with key stakeholders, such as the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC), the Singapore National Paralympic Council as well as the National Sports Associations (NSAs), to proactively engage these athletes.”
“I thank Mr Mark Chay for suggesting we have a skills framework for the fitness sector. Currently, CoachSG works closely with educational institutions, such as Republic Polytechnic, the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, and has strong partnerships with overseas organisations to develop capabilities and content. There are also partnerships with industry players, such as NTUC’s National Instructors and Coaches' Association, to provide coaches and fitness instructors with opportunities for professionalisation and career development. Mr Mark Chay also suggested developing the e-sport industry and community in Singapore. MCCY and SportSG have, indeed, been working with the relevant Government agencies to explore opportunities. For instance, agencies have been supporting major e-sports events, local start-ups, as well as building the talent pipeline for the video games industry. This includes the Global Esports games where SportSG has been engaging the organisers. We are also supporting the building of an e-sports community, especially among the youth through community events, community sports clubs, NYC and *SCAPE. At the same time, MCCY is working with MSF and NYC and a panel of youth on guarding against potential ill effects of e-sports. SportSG is also working with stakeholders to put together a code of practice. For instance, SportSG will be working with MOE to have all Primary and Secondary school students educated on the risks associated with gaming through cyber wellness education resources. Moving on to high performance sports. Mr Xie Yao Quan asked how our athletes are preparing for the Major Games. Mr Xie also shared that that our athletes need to be supported to embrace challenges in the “new normal”. We fully agree.”
“Likewise, the structured mentorship programme is also open to all active coaches who are registered with NROC, and coach developers who are Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents. Under this programme, mentees will receive a monthly allowance of $400, and mentors, $600 monthly, for six months. We will also extend the Enterprise Innovation and Capability Development Grant that was launched in June last year. It will cover 70% of qualifying costs capped at $180,000. Projects supported should cover one or more of these categories, and that includes fan or consumer engagement, high performance and sport science, next-generation infrastructure and facilities, or health and wellness. Finally, the SEP Project Grant. This grant will give more opportunities for SEPs to work and hone their skills. The grant for each application is capped at $25,000 or up to 70% of qualifying costs – specifically operating costs for running projects, events or programmes. Project teams must comprise at least one sport SEP registered with organisations, such as NROC or ActiveSG. SportSG will also support the industry through an Industry Development Plan that sharpens our approach to growing the sports sector. The plan will support the sector in adapting and innovating through the enhancement of digital capabilities and innovation. SportSG will also develop a digitalisation roadmap to help businesses assess digital readiness, identify innovation and opportunities, and spur digital adoption. The second area is the enhancement of workforce capabilities that will see collaborations between workforce and educational agencies to develop a skills framework. And this will help provide better careers, training, education and professional development pathways for the sports workforce.”
“Mr Mark Chay shared that visitorships at sports and fitness centres have not returned to pre-COVID-19 levels and he suggested that sports and fitness be considered a tier-two sector. Since the progressive re-opening of the sports sector in June last year, the sector has benefited from the Sports Resilience Package (SRP) that was launched in October 2020. To-date, close to 100 businesses have benefited from an Operating Grant under the SRP that covers up to 25% of their total operating expenses, capped at $15,000 per month, for up to six months. Mr Chay may be pleased to note that this year, we will provide more support through the enhancement of the SRP. Let me explain. To provide short-term financial support to critical sports businesses, SportSG will extend the SRP Operating Grant from April to December 2021. This grant helps to defray operating expenses for awardees whose businesses are classified as “Private Academies and Clubs”, “Private League Operators” and “Facility Operators”. Applicants must show that revenues continue to be severely impacted, show commitment to preserving jobs and must not be receiving other operating grants from the Government, including SportSG. For coaches, we will extend the training allowance grant and structured mentorship programme to the end of the new financial year. The extended training allowance grant is open to Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents with a valid National Registry of Coaches – or what we affectionately know as NROC – membership who have completed the required training hours based on their membership category. With this grant, each NROC coach can claim for continuing coaching education courses, up to a maximum of 30 hours.”
“With the resumption of physical programmes, the Active Parents School Holiday Programme was introduced to provide more opportunities for parent and child to participate in sporting activities together and to encourage parents to take an active role in guiding their child through the activities. And I am looking forward to taking part in those activities with my eight-month-old son in time to come. For working adults, SportSG will launch the Active Health Corporate Playbook in mid-2021. The Playbook guides companies through the principles of health and wellness, organisational development, and evidence-based coaching to help corporates adopt sport and physical activity as an organisational strategy. While we have programmes in place, it is also important that we ensure access to our sports facilities. Mr Faisal Manap asked how we are improving our facilities booking system. SportSG actively monitors feedback on the system through channels, such as SportSG’s feedback hotline, the system’s technical helpdesk as well as App Store reviews. In 2019, SportSG rolled out version 2.0 of its booking app and regularly releases updates in response to public feedback, as well as to keep up with app developments. SportSG has also been working to finetune booking policies and stepping up efforts to combat scripting and on-selling activities. For instance, SportSG has enhanced on-site enforcement measures, where hirers of ActiveSG facilities are required to be present or have their booking cancelled. It has also enhanced system measures to deter scripting, and imposed stricter penalties against errant members, including account suspension for those found to have abused the system. Just last month alone, 105 accounts were suspended and 735 bookings cancelled after investigations.”
“MCCY is working together with the Tote Board and NCSS, to develop a first-ever technology hub for non-profit organisations to accelerate the sector’s digital transformation. As a one-stop-shop for key Info-Communication Technology (ICT) services, this technology hub for NPOs will avail funding and ICT consultancy services to charities from the “Arts and Heritage”, “Community”, “Education”, “Health”, “Sports” and “Others” sectors. This is over and above support provided by the NCSS under the Tech-and-Go! initiative, and we hope to make this available by July this year. Charities can leverage several schemes under this technology hub, including technical advisory, digital implementation consultancy, digital strategy planning, and the adoption of large-scale specialised ICT solutions. Let me next move on to sports. Mr Xie Yao Quan and Ms Hany Soh asked about how we plan to sustain sports participation. Under our Children and Youth Sport Framework, SportSG is scaling up the Nurture Kids programme in all pre-schools. We are on track to provide all pre-schools with access to the Nurture Kids Train-the-Trainer initiative by 2022. SportSG is also on track to partner the National Institute of Early Childhood Development (NIEC) to build the capabilities of their lecturers through a co-developed SportSG-NIEC Train-the-Trainer programme. This will equip early childhood educators with the knowledge to develop children’s fundamental movement skills. SportSG’s Active Parents movement has also seen more than 10,000 parents come onboard since the launch in April last year. During the circuit breaker period, the initiative helped parents stay active with their children through online resources and stay-home virtual activities.”
“But in Singapore, we want to explain our policies and provide channels for communication between the Government and the people because we believe the Government must be connected to the people. 3.15 pm But why? Because we believe that nothing can be achieved if we do not get buy-in from our people. Singapore works only when Government and people, businesses, unions, communities, all come together. And PA exists to provide the social glue, without which, Singapore would have gotten nowhere. And the networks and bonds of trust that enable the PA to perform its role in peacetime are also what enable the PA to play a vital role in crises. When a major Government policy is announced, PA, together with grassroots advisors, goes to the ground and explains the policies, and that also includes conveying unpopular policies. Hearing directly from residents about their concerns, so that we can actually allow them to voice their concerns, to allow Government to tweak and adapt policies, if needed. These relationships of trust and comradeship that they have built – bit by bit, through good times and bad – are what enabled us to respond as one Singapore during the pandemic. And this is what the late Mr S Rajaratnam meant by a “democracy of deeds”. So, the Member can rest assured that the PA’s budget we have set aside has been put to good use. And the proof of the pudding is in the eating and there is no doubt that the PA has proven its worth in the past year. Let me next talk about our charities. Charities play an important role in our society by ensuring no one is left behind. Mr Mohd Fahmi Bin Aliman asked how we are helping our charities to be digitally ready.”
“It is, however, not very meaningful, as a Member suggested, to compare operating budget to headcounts as $589 million includes both manpower as well as other operating expenditure. And unlike other agencies like IRAS or GovTech, PA manages a whole host of community facilities all across Singapore, fully manned by full-time staff. These include 108 CCs and 665 Residents' Committee (RC) centres, which need regular maintenance as well as other operating costs. So, PA's budget allows it to carry on with its peacetime mission of providing our people with activities – in the thousands every day, actually – that enrich them and which they enjoy. It also enables the building of networks and communities; the relationships of trust. As a former grassroots leader myself – for 15 years, in fact – I am very proud of the work done by PA and its grassroots. As answered before in this Chamber, the political affiliations of volunteers are not relevant to our consideration in the volunteer's participation in PA because PA's mission is fundamentally focused on community building. So, the social capital that we have built up over time, the harmony that we have and that we enjoy within our society, taking care of our residents, including our seniors and the vulnerable ones amongst us – the value of all these, I would say to this House, is not easily quantifiable. PA's role in peacetime and in crisis are inseparable. In many countries, people are quite divorced from the political and administrative machinery. They have difficulties knowing, much less understanding what goes on. The Government is a distant, sometimes even alien, entity.”
“Mr Chairman, thank you for the opportunity. 2020 was a challenging year. COVID-19 forced us to change the way we live, work and play. What does not change, however, is our commitment to building a caring, cohesive and confident society. The pandemic brought to the fore the critical role of the People's Association (PA) and I note Mr Leong Mun Wai's related comment. As a Statutory Board, PA's mission is to build up the cohesiveness of our population – a reserve of social capital and goodwill that is built on trust between people and the Government. This is accumulated during peacetime so that we are in a good position when crises – such as the one we are going through right now – hit us. We did not know when the pandemic would strike. But when it did, PA swung into action: four nation-wide mask distribution exercises to date; hand sanitiser distribution; food delivery services for the vulnerable, especially during the circuit breaker period; TraceTogether token distribution; and most recently, Community Centres (CCs) operating as community vaccination centres, reaching out to seniors and others to be vaccinated. A year ago, I am not so sure any of us had "pandemic response" written in our workplans. But the networks, trust and bonds painstakingly built by PA and its volunteers over the years has allowed us to respond cohesively, quickly and as one community during the pandemic. This is the critical difference between our response here in Singapore and the responses we see elsewhere in the world. To achieve PA's mission, the PA needs to be properly resourced. Its $796 million budget comprises a $207 million development budget – mainly to build and upgrade community clubs – and the remaining $589 million for operating expenditure.”
“We will also pilot a mentoring programme targeted at students who leave ITE prematurely. We hope to guide them to build a network of positive relationships and also help them to find internships or job placements in the areas where they are interested in. In recent years, we also collaborated with community agencies and religious organisations to set up many platforms to study and address various social issues, such as youth mental well-being, rough sleeping, vulnerable groups in the community, charity food support and so on. We will continue to work with Singaporeans to build a society centred on resilience, care and inclusivity so that we can continue to thrive in the face of future challenges. (In English): In closing, let me round back to the questions that Minister Masagos posed earlier: What is our shared vision for the future? What kind of society do we want to be, and what legacy do we want to leave for our future generations? The future is ours to shape. From conversations with the public to spirited discourse with members of this House, we share a vision to build a society where all Singaporeans have access to opportunities to achieve their dreams and that no one is left behind. MSF will continue to work with all Singaporeans to build resilient individuals, strong families, and a caring and inclusive society, so that Singapore can thrive no matter what the future brings. [Applause.]”
“In recent years, MSF, community agencies, and religious organisations have also joined hands to form various networks to address social issues. The PEERS Network, for instance, has 35 partners who run Safe Sound Sleeping Places (S3Ps) and mobilise volunteers to reach out to rough sleepers. I recently joined the Catholic Welfare Services and the Homeless Hearts of Singapore on their night walks. On one walk, we met two uncles who shared their concerns about safety and about losing their belongings when they sleep rough. They were actually initially quite hesitant to move into a shelter, but upon our MSF officers follow up especially on the very next day, they went to engage the uncles again, giving them assurance that the shelter would be suitable and adequate for their needs; they eventually moved into the shelter. And they are now in touch with HDB and MSF SSOs to gradually work out their housing and financial needs. Other volunteer networks which the public can join include the Vulnerable-in-Community (VIC) Network, which befriends and supports vulnerable individuals, including tissue paper sellers and cardboard collectors; the Charity Food Workgroup for instance, which coordinates charity food support to beneficiaries; and the earlier-mentioned ComLink, which supports families in rental flats. We hope that more Singaporeans will join us in stepping forward to make a difference. Sir, in Mandarin, please. (In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Every youth has the potential to become an adaptable and resilient individual. In order to bring out the best in our youth, the Government will continue to work closely with our community partners to build a preventive support system for our vulnerable youth.”
“The Network gives us a platform to brainstorm with the community and try out new ideas to better support our youths’ mental well-being. As Minister of State Xueling shared at MOE’s Committee of Supply, Network members have initiated over 30 potential projects to date. I took part in a brainstorming session in October last year, and was very heartened and inspired by the many good ideas exchanged. One such initiative is Driving Resilience & Inspiration for The Incredible Next Generation, or DRIFTING in short. Led by Network members Ms Francesca Wah, Mr Caleb Tan, Mr Jerry Seah, Mr Pang Lim and Mr Chan Ming Hui, DRIFTING is an outreach programme that aims to provide positive peer support for at-risk adolescents. Tapping on the experiences of former youths-at-risk and informal community touchpoints such as hairdressers, mama shop owners, DRIFTING seeks to strengthen the social support network and introduce protective factors for at-risk adolescents. The team will soon be ready to recruit volunteers and conduct outreach. Our youths are also actively involved in causes to help the vulnerable. Seventeen-year-old Brendson Tan has been involved in ground-up initiative Mummy Yummy since 2013, when his grandmother started the initiative with three other mothers to distribute meals to families in rental flats. As deputy lead of the youth team, Brendson leads over 200 youth volunteers to distribute food door-to-door. And he also leads weekly house visits in Bedok to check on residents’ well-being. Increasingly, youths also want to have a voice in the policy-making process. We constantly find ways to involve youths in our consultations. For instance, the Youth Advisory Group (YAG) provides their perspectives to the NCPR, which I co-chair with Minister of State Faishal.”
“We are also enhancing our capacity and capability to rehabilitate youth offenders. It would take resources, time to strengthen safety and security, before MSF Youth Homes are able to take in additional youths. And on a related note, we are also reviewing the Adoption of Children Act (ACA); to seek public feedback on proposals to better safeguard the welfare of adopted children. Our efforts would not be possible without close collaboration with the community. As Minister Masagos mentioned, we are strengthening partnerships with the community, and encouraging the spirit of giving and volunteering to uplift our vulnerable communities. Mr Mohd Fahmi Bin Aliman asked how we are empowering our youths to contribute to building a resilient and inclusive society. Many youths have been leading and igniting change through community initiatives, and we are actively partnering them to channel their energy and ideas for good. And I will be sharing more examples later on in my speech. Mental well-being is a pertinent issue of our time, brought to the fore by the pandemic. At the start of the circuit breaker, MSF and MOH set up a dedicated National Care Hotline, to provide psychological first aid to Singaporeans. The hotline has since managed over 40,000 calls since it commenced operations in April last year. And in the recent months, with the gradual lifting of COVID-19 measures, total calls managed has decreased and stabilised to 1,500 calls a month, including about 450 per month that needs emotional support. But beyond this, there is more that we must do as a society to promote mental well-being. Mr Shawn Huang and Mr Xie Yao Quan asked how the Youth Mental Well-Being Network (YMWBN) will help support youths.”
“We hope to broaden their exposure to opportunities and support them in building on their strengths and talents. We intend to gather mentors from various industries, to guide the youths to explore potential careers in areas they are interested in. Where possible, mentors will pave the way for internships, apprenticeships, or job placements for these mentees. I am also pleased to update that from February 2021, that is last month, post-care support for our youths discharged from MSF Youth Homes has been extended from two months to one year for all youths discharged from the Homes. Beyond this, we invest upstream in family and community resources to address risks and disadvantages as early as possible. And we also regularly review our legislation to better safeguard the welfare of our youth and children. 8.15 pm Ms Sylvia Lim asked about the impact of the amendments to the Children and Young Persons Act (CYPA) passed by Parliament in 2019. Most amendments took effect from July last year. Implementation has been smooth so far. We extended protection to older children who are abused or neglected, by raising the age limit from 16 to 18. From July to December 2020, MSF investigated 25 such cases involving older children. The shift from “Beyond Parental Control” to “Family Guidance Orders” emphasises the family’s responsibility in guiding their children. Now, parents and children must attend a family programme, before parents can apply to the Court for a Family Guidance Order. The intent really is to equip families with ways to resolve conflict and strengthen family relationships to avoid the need for the Court to intervene. The regime is still new at this point in time, and we need time to monitor its implementation.”
“Sir, building a strong social compact starts with building resilient and caring individuals. This begins from nurturing our youth to bring out the best in them. All youths, including our vulnerable and at-risk ones, can be resilient individuals. We must support them well, so they too can realise their full potential. Mr Murali Pillai asked how we can do so. The National Committee on Prevention, Rehabilitation and Recidivism (NCPR), which I co-chair with Minister of State Faishal of MHA, oversees national efforts to prevent offending, re-offending and to enhance rehabilitation of offenders. Through the Localised Community Network (LCN) pilot, we provide wraparound, coordinated support to children and youth with complex family circumstances or those who exhibit at-risk behaviours. MSF also works closely with appointed agencies to run programmes aimed at reducing at-risk behaviours, such as "Youth GO!". Over the years, we have made steady progress. The number of youths arrested has fallen by about 40% over the last decade. Pre-court diversionary programmes have significantly contributed to keeping first-time youth offenders who commit minor offences out of the court system. We will continue to work with our partners to build a preventive support system for our youths. We will pilot a mentoring programme targeted at students who leave ITE prematurely. We have two main objectives: First, to expand the youths’ network of positive relationships. We hope that the young mentees will find lifelong friends and role models in the mentors, pick up useful life skills, and gain access to a trusted adult that they feel comfortable reaching out to. Second, to empower the youths to achieve their aspirations.”
“In school, his main motivation to learn was to pick up skills that would help him do well in what he was passionate about, not grades. Eugene's journey, as well as many others who had taken paths less travelled, is instructive. How can we, as a society, change our mindsets about how success is defined and how one gets there? How can we, as a society, dump our deep-seated biases and start looking at our youths with a pair of untainted lenses? While it is true that ITE students might not have done well academically, it does not follow that they are less worthy members of our society. They too have talent and potential. How can we better structure a system that would nurture, mentor and help them uncover and pursue their passions, even in non-mainstream fields? I would like to conclude with a quote from the late Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a novelist and winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature. He said, and I quote, "Human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them… life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves." Mr Chairman, we must enable and empower all our youth, including who are less academically inclined, to be able to reinvent and be the best version of themselves. Student Care Centres – Disadvantaged Kids”
“I cannot speak for others, but I do know if I ever were to be assessed for handyman work, I would likely rank amongst the bottom 10%. My better half can attest to that. And how about an index for street smarts? I hardly think I would go very far in that aspect as well. 2.45 pm So, why are we, as a society, so fixated on good grades, degrees and white-collared jobs? It is high time that we recognise that every youth has potential, and potential should not be defined narrowly in terms of academic achievements. Perhaps, we should stop labelling youths who are not as academically inclined as the "bottom 10%" or the laggards? They too have talents; they too have potential that they can show to the world. They are not the bottom 10%! Wayne Liu, or DJ Koflow as he is better known, is one stellar example. When a younger Wayne ran afoul of the law, what the probationer said left a deep impression on him, and I quote, "You don’t have good grades, but you’re a very talented kid. You need to find your focus." Today, Wayne is one of our music scene's most established turntablists, well sought after in the region. I must qualify I am not making a case that one needs to be big in order to be successful. I recently spoke to Eugene, a teaching assistant and technical officer in a local institution. Eugene always had an interest in music. Armed with an ITE certificate and his burning passion, he decided to become an audio engineer right after National Service. It is a path less travelled, and understandably, family support was lukewarm. But Eugene was lucky. He had met several mentors who took him under their wings and generously guided him along the way. Eugene's journey in music was heavily driven by passion.”
“Mr Chairman, every youth has potential. Potential to do well in life. Potential to be the best version of him or herself. In 2020 last year, the proverbial stork blessed our little red dot with 38,705 babies. My son was one of them. In time to come, they will begin life’s salmon run and give it their best shot in their swims upstream. Some will thrive and do well. And yet for a variety of reasons, some of these young ones will stumble along the way. Each cohort, less than 1% does not complete Secondary school education. By any standard, we have done remarkably well in keeping our young ones in school. But the story here on is a little troubling. At lunar new year gatherings each year, conversations sometimes crash into awkward silences when parents share about their child’s enrolment into ITE. These silences point to a mental model that has been entrenched in our collective psyche, that there exists a hierarchy: university degrees are more valued than polytechnic diplomas, and diplomas are more valued than ITE certificates. And paper qualification that a young person possesses is the marker of his or her intrinsic value, or worse, one that is commensurate with his or her concept of self-worth. How tragic would that be, if it were true? I have been mentoring ITE students for the past seven years or so, so I have the privilege of interacting with many of them. Deep down in my heart, and I am sure in many of Members' hearts, too, in this Chamber, we all know there is still some truth to this. It is still how many of us frame how we think about education and success. Are students who do well academically, that is, our top 10% in schools, top 10% in everything else in life?”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Member for her additional question. We are now leveraging quite a bit on the online platforms because of the current situation that we are in, because of the pandemic situation that we are in. But we take her suggestion. As much as possible, we will definitely work with community partners to try to proliferate and make this programme, which is a good programme for all parents, myself included. Hopefully, the participation rate can be further boosted over time.”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Member Ms Carrie Tan, for her questions. I am happy to actually share that to-date, about more than 30,000 parents have benefited from the programmes. And we have some results to show. Triple P has, in fact, proven to be quite effective. We have parents coming back to tell us that they now have greater parenting competence. They have also experienced less parenting stress, improved emotional states that they experience and also reduced behavioural problems that they find in their children. So, overall, on a more sustained basis, more specifically, parents have also come back to tell us that about 20% reduction in both their children's problematic behavioural scores have been observed, as well as their own parenting stress scores. And this is taken about three months after they have completed the programme. So, we are happy to share some of these encouraging results. So, with this result, we hope that more parents could come onboard, join us for these online programmes, invest some of the time and energy, so that they can learn better parenting tips and be onboard with us on the programme.”
“How do we ensure that the vulnerable ones amongst us are not by default technological laggards, as this only further entrenches their social and financial positions? And how do we ensure that our seniors are able to ride the fast and furious waves of new digital technologies? How can we help our businesses to strike a sensible balance between maintaining existing legacy systems, yet at the same time, invest in digital business innovations? And what is our digital strategy to support our SMEs and local large enterprises (LLEs) not only to remain buoyant, but coiled and ready to propel themselves to thrive in the digital global marketplace? Digital Inclusion and Safer Internet”
“Mr Chairman, libraries are society’s portals to knowledge. They play a central role in our younger generations’ journeys in learning, serve as a public space facilitating the transmission and exchange of ideas and culture, and they are also a great leveller as a provider of technology for the vulnerable. As Singapore and the rest of the world gets unceremoniously jolted into the digital future due to the pandemic, what can we do to ensure that our public libraries keep pace with technological advances? How can we ensure our libraries continue to serve Singapore residents by playing its social and curatorial roles? In a world where a Google search often forms the first step of most, if not all quests in seeking knowledge, what are the evolutions our libraries need to make in order to ensure its continued relevance in the digital future? And on a related note, how will the role of our librarians need to evolve so that they too, can keep pace with these inevitable changes? Keeping Up with the Digital Future Mr Chairman, COVID-19 has forced the world to change the way we operate overnight. The pandemic foisted upon us the digital future in double quick time. Home-based learning for our young ones. Families increasingly reliant on e-commerce platforms for our everyday needs such as shopping for groceries. Life events such as weddings and wakes conducted over video conferencing due to safe management measures. Whatever the activity, the conclusion is one and the same: we have embraced digitalisation and there is no turning back, even when the pandemic finally ends. Given this unintended but inevitable consequence of the pandemic, what can we do to ensure that digitalisation does not derail our efforts in strengthening our social compact?”
“The Taskforce is co-led by MOH and the Institute of Mental Health, with members from MOM, MOE, MSF, MCCY, HPB, AIC, NCSS and PA. Why so many agencies, you might ask? Because we recognise that the issue of mental wellness and mental health has many facades. Members of the multi-disciplinary Taskforce can leverage their colleagues' areas of expertise in staging a holistic response to address mental health issues arising from COVID-19 and beyond. In fact, the Taskforce will be better placed to identify issues such as those raised by the hon Member, Dr Wan Rizal, and conduct deep dives so that our people's collective mental health needs could be better addressed. Mr Speaker, Senior Minister of State, Janil Puthucheary, Minister of State, Sun Xueling as well as myself have been recently appointed to support both the COVID-19 Mental Wellness Taskforce and the Youth Mental Well-being Network. We look forward to journeying with both the Taskforce and the Network to evolve the mental health and well-being landscape in Singapore. Once again, I thank the hon Member for spotlighting mental wellness and mental health. It is an issue that we, as a society need to continually work on. I would like to conclude by assuring Members of this House that the Government is firmly committed to work with partners from the private and people sectors not only in eradicating stigma associated with mental health conditions, but in ensuring that mental health issues remain front and centre in our collective social consciousness. [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to. (proc text)] [(proc text) Resolved, "That Parliament do now adjourn." (proc text)] Adjourned accordingly at 8.21 pm.”
“sg is a portal offering resources on mental health, including a standardised tool for users to assess their own emotional well-being. Not forgetting Belle, the Beyond the Label chatbot that connects users to a comprehensive list of mental health services and resources based on keywords. In essence, we have covered some ground in eradicating stigma, channelling resource to the mental wellness landscape and supporting individuals with mental health conditions. But, make no mistake: we remain a "work in progress" and our approach needs to evolve. To that end, I am heartened to share that since February this year, the open call to recruit those keen to contribute to the Youth Mental Well-being Network saw over 1,000 youths, parents, care-givers, mental health practitioners and professionals pitching in. The Network takes a ground-up approach, with members surfacing ideas and identifying the areas they want to work on. It takes the view that Government does not have a monopoly of ideas, but we want to journey with the community in co-creating solutions in the spirit of SG Together. Since work in the Network started, members have stepped forward to lead discussions, developed ideas and initiatives to strengthen support for our youth's mental well-being. Their diverse views and insights have enhanced our collective understanding and the Network has since identified 15 preliminary initiatives, within eight broad areas of interest, and these include enhancing mental health literacy, reducing stigma, and building emotional resilience. Alongside the Network, the COVID-19 Mental Wellness Taskforce has been more recently convened to provide a coordinated national response to the mental health needs of Singaporeans arising from the pandemic.”
“From next month, HPB will be rolling out the Peer Support @ Work series to help employees better understand how and what it means to be a peer supporter at work. We have also invited persons living with mental health conditions to serve as ambassadors in our anti-stigma movement. Since 2016, the Peer Support Specialist programme led by NCSS has been equipping persons with mental health conditions to leverage their lived experiences to inspire, empower and support others in their recovery journey. Second, lending better support for mental well-being generally, as well as for persons with mental health conditions. Within our communities, MOH and AIC has established community outreach and intervention teams, started mental health and dementia services in polyclinics, and trained GP partners to diagnose and support persons with mental health conditions. As of end 2019, AIC has set up 43 community outreach teams which reached out to more than 300,000 persons and assisted over 23,000 people at risk of developing mental health conditions or dementia. To cushion the impact of COVID-19 on mental well-being in our communities, MSF – with MOH's support – set up the National CARE Hotline in April this year to provide emotional and psychological support to those in distress. Cases needing specialised support beyond what the helpline could offer are referred to service providers such as the IMH, the Samaritans of Singapore or SOS and other social service agencies. The hotline has since managed over 30,000 calls. To help someone who needs to navigate through available resources on mental health, the MOH Office for Healthcare Transformation, MSF, NCSS and IMH launched mindline.sg in July this year. Mindline.”
“Mr Speaker, I thank the Member for putting a spotlight on mental well-being and mental health. And I thank Members of the House for your patience for the next 10 minutes. Rest assured I have your mental well-being at heart. Our work ahead of us can be categorised into two broad categories: first, fighting stigma; second, to lend better support for mental wellness in general and for individuals with mental health conditions. Before we look ahead let us first take stock of what already has been done. Since 2018, NCSS has passionately powered Beyond the Label movement, a campaign that aims at amplifying the anti-stigma message. NCSS has worked with partners to develop resources, organise outreach activities and the annual Beyond the Label Festival, which allows the general public to have a better understanding of the stigma faced by persons with mental health conditions. Beyond broad-based campaigns, work has also been done in a more targeted fashion. For instance, MOE has incorporated the learning of socio-emotional skills and resilience building into school curriculum, CCAs and other programmes. We recognise the importance of equipping our children with the socio-emotional skills to handle challenges and better bounce back from difficult situations. This is all the more important in a world that is currently struggling with COVID-19 and its aftermath. Next year, MOE will introduce the enhanced Character and Citizenship Education or CCE featuring mental health education. It will include topics such as "understanding common mental health issues and symptoms" and "developing empathy towards people struggling with mental health conditions". On the other hand, HPB has also been conducting mental well-being roadshows and workshops at our workplaces.”